RADS present a warm-hearted comedy with laughs, drama and pathos as a group of women - and one man - attempt to overcome their inhibitions and left feet in their weekly tap dancing class. Mavis, a former professional chorus girl tries her hardest to teach the enthusiastic amateurs some performance skills for an upcoming grand charity performance.
But before the dancing begins Mavis must mediate the minor dramas that erupt among this motley but loveable crew. As the play progresses, so do the dance skills, but will they have the ability to be transformed into triumphant tappers?
Stepping Out won the Evening Standard Comedy of the Year Award in 1984.
Reviews
Report by: John Holliday on Saturday 6 August 2022 (edited)
Venue: Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond
Director: Lynne Kerr
When you think of a show like Stepping Out you instantly think of Tap Routines and whilst RADS carried this off with great effect what they truly captured was making these characters and their stories believable. Stepping Out tells the story of a mish-mash group of wannabe tap dancers and their amateur dance class led by the ambitious and dedicated Mavis, brilliantly played by Joanne Mason. Joanne in her enthusiastic manner whilst not puffing on a cigarette convinces the group of varied ability to enter them into a showcase number to mixed receptions from the group. Ably assisted by Mrs Fraser, played very effectively by Susie Ordish who excelled in her dry wit, sarcastic humour and dramatic walkouts, Mavis worked against all the odds to turn this group into the stars of the new 42nd Street.
With a basic yet very effective set which had the perfect look of a run-down village hall, Lynne Kerr as director of the show worked wonders to use every inch of the compact Georgian Theatre stage, and even with bags, chairs and pianos swamping the stage you never panicked over any accidents despite nine cast members tapping their way around the stage. Lynne put together a great cast with lots of changes since rehearsals began 3 years ago and whilst I can’t comment on who was originally cast the ten-strong cast were brilliant in every aspect. Lynne clearly has worked so hard with every cast member to look within the script and allow the actors to find the stories behind the tapping.
Nicola Bryan took on the nervous character of Andy, a character clearly using the rehearsals as her escape from a poor married life and it was brilliant to see her handle not only the shy side of the character but the change as she takes a grip on her life and kicks her cheating husband into touch. In complete contrast we had the bossy busybody of Vera, a wonderful performance of this character by Wendy Morris. A newcomer to the group who inadvertently manages to wind up every member of the group, from her over confidence of dance ability to doing every job around the village hall, Andy even managed to get annoyed with her. The one-liner putdowns were fantastic, I am still laughing at the “Oh I used to be fat" line somehow being used in an attempt at building friendship,
Nerves were certainly a big factor in a lot of the characters, many people use these classes to try and overcome fear, and Lynne and Dorothy played by Marie Claire Smith and Stephanie McAulay respectively, were two great examples of this. Both constantly apologising and trying to hide in the background, they were not only fabulous in their character portrayal but also very convincing in acting as if they could not tap that well – this is not an easy skill at all. Bouncing around the stage was the wonderful Maxine, played by Helena Langford with such brilliant energy and strength. Clearly a central figure in the group, her pushing of her own clothes lines and fashion advice was a joy to watch.
One of the most energetic performances came from Carole White, playing Rose. In every scene she gave us such warmth and positive energy as she bounded around the stage, the only thing more positive was her determination to get to the pub with her partner in crime, Sylvia played by Jodie Martin. Jodie gave us the performance of the night, sharp one-liners, brilliant comical timing and a great ability to still be acting when not involved were a joy to watch. A very lively, attention-grabbing character hiding her own insecurities within herself. A wonderful portrayal of a complex character.
Surrounded by all of these dominant women you felt quite sorry for the solo male in the group. Hen-pecked and teased into submission was Geoffrey, played by Paul Mason. Paul managed to capture the nervous and shy character expertly and as his confidence grew, we really saw him develop, not only in his tap but in himself. His incompetent flirting with Andy was brilliant to watch and made us warm to him even more.
With Lynne ably assisted by a strong technical team a huge shout out has to be given to Maureen Mundell who choreographed and taught the group to tap. Maureen previously choreographed the show when RADS performed it over 25 years ago and the build up to this show must have felt as long with a 3 year build up. There were huge hurdles to overcome but the end routines were slick and tight and gave the show an amazing ending. Huge praise must go to Lynne, Maureen and every cast member for the vast amount of time they have put in to get to this level and to give the audience of Richmond a fantastic evening’s entertainment.
Thank you to RADS as always for an extremely warm welcome but more importantly for a sensational performance. I can’t wait to see your return to Shakespeare in the Autumn.
Report by: Barry Jones on Saturday 30 July 2022
Venue: Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond
Director: Lynne Kerr
Richmond Amateur Dramatic Society’s summer show at The Georgian Theatre Royal has been a long three years in the making. Scheduled for summer 2020, it fell foul of Covid and lockdown etc – you know how the story goes! – and it has taken until 2022 to bring it to fruition. Some of the original cast were unable to take part so there has been a history of re-casting, absences through illnesses and learning tap dancing routines in isolation. It was, therefore, with a large degree of celebration that the curtain finally went up on the opening night of Richard Harris’s sharp-witted comedy Stepping Out.
The play concerns nine women – and one man – from very different backgrounds who attend the same weekly tap-dancing class in a local church hall in the 1980’s. Despite the students at first treating the classes largely as social occasions, and showing little talent (or co-ordination!), they later develop an admirable level of skill and cohesiveness, culminating in a grand charity public performance.
Leading the class is Mavis (Joanne Mason) a thwarted dancer who never made it beyond the professional chorus lines and the hilarious, sour-faced piano accompanist Mrs Fraser (Susie Ordish). The pupils themselves are a mixed bunch. There are the loud and dominant class members like the extrovert Maxine (Helena Langford); the glamour queen Rose (Carole White); and the loveable class clown Sylvia (Jodie Martin) who manages to steal a lot of the evening’s laughs.
Then there are the quieter types: the insecure Dorothy (Stephanie McAulay) who always arrives on her bike; the nail-chewing Lynne (Marie Claire Smith) and the enigmatic Andy (Nicola Bryan). Thrown into this mix is class newcomer Vera (Wendy Morris) who left her previous class under a cloud. Her character’s well-meaning but obsessive-compulsive bluntness and intrusion into the class is funny, compelling, and ultimately moving. And, finally, there is the wonderful part of Geoffrey (Paul Mason) who is recently widowed, the only man in the group and increasingly the subject of the women’s attention.
This fascinating bunch are all very different and all have their own personal stories away from the tap class that start to emerge as the play progresses. As they prepare for the show of a lifetime, we get to see the tensions, squabbling and, at times, accusations, that make up these sorts of social interactions. By the end of the evening, you feel heavily invested in these lovable characters and intrigued and (without wishing to go into spoiler territory) concerned by the hints at the darker sides of their lives.The cast handle all this very well and do a great job of bringing everyone to life, but this is also one of the script’s frustrations. You are left wanting to know more. By the end of the evening, I for one had grown rather fond of everyone and was a little frustrated by the lack of answers.
That said, the play offers up a fine observational slice of life with equal helpings of comedy and pathos. It is also very funny and entertaining to watch and there is a steady stream of cracking one-liners that had the audience roaring with laughter. The show’s finale is slick, professional and brings a feel-good high to the evening; showing that those three years in production have certainly not been in vain! This is an excellent and competent showing from RADS.
Stepping Out runs on selected nights at The Georgian Theatre Royal until Saturday 6 August. Get along to see it if you can.
